Stay Together or Die Alone
by Freddio507
Summary: After Moria, the Fellowship are faced with a great fear. Wildmen and mercenaries capture the Fellowship only to hand them over to a deadlier force. With no means of escape can their friendship and bonds keep them alive? Involves violence and mild torture, younger readers be advised.
1. Aftermath

_**Hello everyone! This is my new story, I'm afraid this first chapter isn't very action packed as I am setting the scene. I do not own the characters that Tolkein created but the ones that will come into the story later are made up by me. Also this fanfic will contain some violence and torture, so if you are a younger reader please be aware, although it won't be horrifically graphic! Reviews are most welcomed, I hope you enjoy the story.**_

Stay together or die alone:

No one had expected the events of Moria, the darkness, the grief, the great fire of the Balrog and the untimely death of the Fellowship's dear wizard Gandalf. The truth was it affected every single member of the party even if they wished against it, he was their leader, their source of safety and wisdom and in a shocking turn of events he fell, into the darkness. Frodo was affected the most, this came as no surprise; Gandalf was a foundation for the Hobbit, a place to turn to when things where unclear and without the restraint of Boromir he would have considered going after the wizard himself.

When darkness came into light and the air became clear, the remaining members of the Fellowship sighed in relief. Four days they were trapped in that mine, that tomb. Gimli seemed less affected by the darkness being a dwarf but his grief of the death of Balin and his fellow kin was easy to see upon his face. He hunched over onto the floor, a single tear streamed down his cheek, the peaceful landscape surrounding them was filled with the dwarves' angry bellows. However he was not the only one who showed despair; Merry and Pippin held one another in a pathetic attempt of comfort. Boromir consoled the grieving dwarf, he himself was not as close to Gandalf as the others but he feared what would come of the Fellowship now that their leader had passed on. He turned to Sam and saw the sadness in his eyes as he gently clutched his pack. Surprisingly to the man's eyes he was not with Frodo, in fact Frodo was nowhere to be seen. His thoughts were stalled when he heard Aragorn's voice.

'Legolas, get them up'

Boromir's eyes turned to the elf, who perhaps struggled the most in the dark mines, though he wouldn't admit it. He noted the sadness and confusion that was placed in Legolas' expression, perhaps it was due to the fact of being immortal that Legolas could not understand the concept of death. Nevertheless the Fellowship had to move and after much encouragement from Aragorn to move them along and after finding Frodo by the water's edge, the Fellowship carried on their journey.

Their arduous task continued and soon nightfall fell upon the land. By this time they had reached the forest edge, however Lothlorien was still miles away, it would take at least another two days to be in safety, something which would be very much welcomed within the Fellowship particularly with the Hobbits. Aragorn stopped their silent march when he came to a small clearly amongst the trees and decided that it would be a suitable enough place to sleep, much to the delight of Merry and Pippin. The Hobbits dropped their packs heavily onto the ground and all sat down together against a large Oak. Sam made sure Frodo was warm enough as the temperature in the forest dropped dramatically; Frodo still hadn't spoken since Gandalf's death but he smiled gently at Sam to thank him. A little way from the Hobbits were the rest of the party, Aragorn paced in thought while Legolas stood scanning the perimeter with his elven sight. Boromir and Gimli seemed to have taken a leaf out of the Hobbit's book and sat down heavily onto the ground. Aragorn ceased his pacing and looked at his companions, how exhausted they all were.

'We all need rest; tomorrow we must reach Lothlorien, it will be a long walk but we cannot linger any more than we already have.'

Legolas nodded in agreement, 'The sooner we reach Galadriel's borders the better. I can sense great danger.'

All eyes faced the elf at his sudden confession. It was not wise to ignore the wisdom of the elves and Legolas was no exception. Aragorn frowned in confusion.

'What do you mean Legolas?'

With his eyes still penetrating the area for danger he answered, 'Since we reached these woods, I have felt a presence, that we are not alone. I understand that my kin are not far away but it is not them I can feel. Even the trees are telling me of this danger.'

Aragorn sighed deeply, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers. 'We will not be able to fight with depleted strength, we must rest. We will not make a fire tonight and only speak in whispers to hide our cover. We set off at dawn, however we will need two people to take watch tonight.'

'I will take watch'

Aragorn turned to the elf who stood attentively, however the man shook his head in disagreement

'Legolas, you have not slept in four days. You cannot deny this, for not only am I aware of this information.'

Legolas scowled at the man.

'It is true Master Elf, I know elves do not need as much sleep as the rest of us, but even you tire after 4 days without rest.' The dwarves' words were shocking to Legolas as they held no resentment only pure fact. Legolas finally nodded and stubbornly agreed that he should take some rest. After much debate it was decided that Pippin who was surprisingly alert would take the first watch with Boromir taking over afterwards.

However the elf's words began to play upon everyone's minds.

_**Hope you enjoyed that, not much to go on, but now my story can begin!**_


	2. Whispers

_**Onwards and upwards with the story, thank you for the views!**_

It was not the strong breeze that woke Legolas from his elvish sleep, neither was it the heavy snoring of the dwarf. He awoke from his open eyed rest by fear; something did not feel right and he could not understand why. Slowly he sat up from his sleeping position, his keen hearing picking up every sound in the clearing where he and his friends lay. Whispers, he heard whispers coming through the trees, his brow furrowed in an attempt to decipher what these noises were and considered for some time that perhaps he was dreaming as his companions were still fast asleep. Fast asleep? He thought curiously, this could not be right, Boromir and Pippin were supposed to be on watch and yet when he turned to the small Hobbit it was clear that he has fallen asleep at his task and was therefore unable to awake the man. Legolas was not angered by this fact, in fact he smiled gently at the small sleeping figure, Pippin was exhausted and was in much need of rest as was Boromir, it was only fitting that the most restless of the Fellowship was awake to make sure the safety of…..

Legolas whipped his head around swiftly in the direction of the dense forest. Whispers came to his ears once more. He stood up and as light as a leaf walk over the grass to avoid disturbing his friends and came to a tall oak. He touched the bark lightly;

'Is it you my friends that whisper to me?'

He shook his head in disagreement, 'Nay it would not be you, these voices are filled with anger'

He focused his ears on the sounds of the forest, taking in every single sound from the movement of the leaves in the wind to the creatures scurrying on the ground and up high. But despite this, there were faint sounds of people, men, and worst of all these sounds were becoming louder as if they were coming closer. Legolas shook his head in disagreement to his thoughts, there were no men that lived around this border, especially not this close to the elven realm of Lothlorien. He eased in stature as he relaxed his mind, but this was short lived; his mind reminded him abruptly that perhaps no men lived near these borders, but Isengard is not too far away, are these the voices of Saruman's wild men sent to find the ring? Legolas took in a deep breath and again focused his attention to the sounds, but it was still, it was quiet, too quiet. He pulled out one of his fighting knives that he had still attached to his back and held it in a firm grasp. Despite the darkness of the night, his elvish sight was still able to pierce through the dark effectively. Despite being thankful for his blessed senses he was not wholly pleased with what his eyes had spotted. 50 metres away amongst trees and shrubbery, the moon reflected off the eyes of what appeared to be a hunting hound. Legolas stared at his discovery and the hound stared back, the standoff did not last for long as the hound's body came into full view under the moonlight and it began to stalk its prey. Legolas gripped his knife tightly confronting the hound; he knew he must slay the creature, it was obvious it was part of a hunting pack sent off by men and there was no way Legolas was willing to let the hound return to its master and direct them back to the Fellowship's location.

The hound began to run towards Legolas, its long sharp teeth in full view, it jumped up and pounced towards him but in one swift movement the elvish blade was buried deep into the vicious and deadly creature. However, it was well trained much to the horror of Legolas, with its last breath the hound roared loudly calling to his pack. The elvish knife struck the beast again and it dropped heavily onto the floor, Legolas stared at the lifeless form and turned back to his camp. He noticed that Aragorn was slowly waking from the loud howl, but that was not his main concern. He listened out into the forest once more and swallowed hard when he heard the whispers turn into angered shouts. The sound of the other dogs howling in response echoed vividly through the forest. It was at this point Legolas knew for sure that they were no longer safe; He sprinted over to Aragorn and abruptly woke him up, Aragorn who was clearly startled sat up in one quick motion

'Legolas what is it!'

Legolas was already making his way over to Boromir and Gimli to wake them, 'We are being hunted!'

Aragorn eyes widened in shock, 'What!'

'I just killed one of their hunting dogs, they know of our location'

Aragorn did not need to hear anymore, he too began to wake the hobbits

'Frodo, Frodo you must wake up!'

Frodo's eyes groggily opened, 'What? What is going on?'

Aragorn tried to keep his voice calm, 'We are being hunted Frodo, we must move'

Startled, Frodo sat up and instinctively started to gather his things, 'Who is hunting us?' he asked loudly.

Legolas who was ready to leave answered; 'Wild men, if my ears are correct. They have a hunting pack too'

'How much time to we have?' asked Boromir urgently

However the question no longer needed answering as the shouts of the men and the barks of the dogs were now so close it was frightening.

'We need to move! Now!' ordered Aragorn

'We cannot outrun dogs' snapped Boromir

'Let us take them on!' growled Gimli

'And what of the Hobbits, they are exhausted!' replied Aragorn taking note of the four standing behind the warriors.

'We will fight!' shouted Merry

Aragorn didn't wish to believe it, but they stood less chance running away, they had to fight.

Legolas stood in the middle, bow aimed to kill; Boromir and Aragorn stood beside him poised to fight while Gimli stood in front of the hobbits, axe raised high.

They only way they could survive the attack was to stick together. And they all knew it was only a matter of seconds until the fight came to them.


	3. Feathered Darts

_**Thank you for the early positive reviews, it is very encouraging. The story is going to get darker from now on, so I hope you enjoy!**_

Aragorn did not know how many men were soon to appear out from the dark shadows of the forest, nor did he waste his time in trying to calculate a possible estimate. All he thought was that as long as he and the rest of the Fellowship stuck together, the possibility of survival was raised greatly. He clenched the hilt of his sword tightly; a slight trembling in his stomach of fear prompted a bead of sweat to trickle down the side of his face. Indeed, even for a season veteran of sword battles like Aragorn this situation was frightening, they did not know their enemy, they did not know their odds, all they could establish was how far away the enemy were by their grotesque language and the angered growl of the dogs. The Fellowship stood their ground, forming a circle, covering all possible areas of attack but as they stood their valiantly, ready for battle a deathly silence fell upon the forest. It was so silent every exhale of the group could be heard, even Legolas, it was unsettling and it didn't take long for Gimli to retaliate.

''What are they doing? Too cowardly to face us it seems!' he growled furiously, 'Show yourself!' he ordered.

Aragorn raised his hand to lower the dwarf's voice. But Gimli chose to ignore the command

'Let them come Aragorn, they threaten us, they should figh…'

None of the Fellowship expected to see what they saw, the Hobbits eyes looked on in horror at the sudden silencing of the dwarf. In a split second a small dart with a feathered end had imbedded itself into the dwarf's neck leaving him to fall heavily onto the ground in an unconscious state. Boromir went to take a step towards the fallen dwarf but Aragorn's hand raised up again;

'No, do not move!' Aragorn turned to face depths of the forest, he called out, ''we mean you no harm, please reveal yourself and perhaps we can discuss what matters you may have.'

They all waited hesitantly for the response, but they did not receive one. The hobbits eyed one another in fear;

'Stay close Mr Frodo'

Frodo took a step closer to his loyal friend and gripped Sting tightly

The intimidating silence ended with a loud commanding yell and within a flash 3 dogs and seven men ran out of the forest. Quickly the dogs fell to the elf's arrows but this was not a strong gain as the fighting soon became close combat. The men did not possess mighty skill with their blades but they certainly proved too much for the Hobbits who quickly came under vast pressure. Boromir fought bravely against the ferocious man by landing heavy blows against his sword, eventually the Gondorian was able to thrust deep into his stomach and was rewarded with a deathly groan as the man fell to the ground. However his new focus was daunting, the men targeting the hobbits had able to split them up with Merry and Pippin being closest to him, with haste he stormed over to the two hobbits who were fighting for their lives but suddenly felt a dark haze draw over him. His balance began to trouble him and he fell heavily onto the floor, he just had the strength to lift his heads to see Merry and Pippin and they two fell to the ground unconscious with the men standing proudly over them, it wasn't long until Boromir fell into the world of the unconscious himself.

Aragorn and Legolas unaware of their fallen comrades where still fighting against the remaining men, they were outnumbered but did not let that phase them, in quick succession the man and elf were able to kill two more of the attackers however as Aragorn pulled the bloodied sword from the man's chest he noticed the fallen figures of not only Gimli but of Boromir, Merry and Pippin. Aragorn's eyes widened at the sight and then spotted Frodo and Sam cowering by a nearby tree, the men that threatened to kill them had now moved onto Legolas and Aragorn. Aragorn motioned them to run but the Hobbits shook their heads in violent protest.

'Do it!' yelled Aragorn raises his blade to meet the man's

Sam looked hesitantly at Frodo, 'Frodo come on we can escape and send help'

'We can't leave them Sam!'

Aragorn killed another, leaving only four men, Aragorn had a brief moment to turn to the frightened hobbits once more, he opened his mouth to speak but no words escaped his mouth. A dart flew out of the forest and imbedded itself into the ranger's neck. He tried to fight against the growing haze by swinging his sword out in a violent motion but it was no use, he could feel every muscle shutting down and his eyes closing, he fell to the floor and gave one last attempt to plead with the hobbits to run.

'Mr Frodo, come on! We will end up like them, we can find help!'

Frodo's eyes filled with tears, 'I…I…can't'

'Think of the ring Mr Frodo, they have protected us so we can escape!'

Frodo sighed deeply and with deep regret ran off deep into the forest undetected

Legolas stood alone, one against four yet he still had complete hope he could prevail. At last one of the men spoke;

'Drops your weapons you cannot beat us.'

'I have be outnumbered before, you will prove no match to me'

'That is very arrogant of you Blondie, especially seeing that there are three more of us positioned in the forest ready to take aim at you.'

'You will not do any….'

Legolas felt a dart imbed itself into his neck and quickly he removed it. The men watched bewildered as to why he was still standing. Another flew into his neck, it still had no effect.

'You have harmed my friends I will not let you proceed with your intentions' Legolas stated bravely

'That's very sweet' the man said, 'But we cannot allow this, you will be coming with us'

Legolas knives we ready for the fight and the four men pounced on the elf but strongly he fought them off using his agility and highly trained skill. He was so effective against their slow movements that he was able to kill one of the men, which as a result ended up with another dart to his neck, but Legolas ignored it and carried on battling hard. One of the men stood back and yelled to the forest.

'He is an elf, more poison!'

This time 5 darts much larger than before struck Legolas and he stumbled backwards in response. His head suddenly felt dizzy and the men watched him with sadistic grins. Legolas pulled the darts out and once again raised his knives ready to fight taking them by surprise. Again blades locked blades but Legolas' agility was diminished, his strength failing, he fought and fought but finally the eighth dart struck into his smooth skin and he suddenly lost the grip of his knives. He stumbled and fell to his knees, trying to control his breathing. He fought the blackness but suddenly found to grubby shoes in front of him. He looked up and one of the attackers stood in front of him holding a large club. Legolas squinted his eyes in confusion. The man laughed at the pathetic look of the elf

'Night night Elf!'

With a hard whack, the club struck Legolas and he fell into unconsciousness.


	4. Darkness and chains

**Thank you already for some lovely reviews especially '****weepingangel9578', what you wrote is so kind and I'm so glad you are enjoying my stories!**

His eyes blearily opened but abruptly closed again at the discomfort. They were sore and painful; he tried again, fighting against his heavy eyelids. He managed to keep them open for a considerable amount of time but the dizziness that assaulted his head did not aid to his vision. He gasped quietly at the nausea that hit him as he fought to keep his vision intact, it took a few good minutes but eventually he became the victor. The nausea still ailed him but at last he could see clearly. The first thing he noticed was that he was lying on a cold dark stone floor, it was so cold that it felt wet, although he was not sure if that was the case or perhaps he was perspiring. This was when he noticed the second and third thing; he was not perspiring, in fact the location he was at was very cold and in the process of wiping his hand over his face to check for perspiration he discovered that his hands were bound by metal cuffs. They were tight around his wrists and they stung when he began to pathetically remove them, he studied the craftwork and felt a chain attached to them, he tugged at the chain and discovered that it ran back to a cold wall. He sighed at his problem and decided it was probably best to try and sit up. Very carefully his rose up fighting off his dizziness and nausea, when he had done this he checked his body for any further injuries, he patted his legs down for cuts and this the same for his body; fortunately he seem to be unscathed the only real problem coming he faced was nausea which he was sure was from the poison.

'Poison?' he thought

He suddenly realised what had happened. They were attacked but by who? He remembered that Sam and Frodo had managed to escape but where were the others? A thousand questions ran through his mind before eventually asking himself, where was he? Still seated he suddenly took in his surroundings. It was a cold dark room, ahead of him were metal bars and a metal door, right at the top of the walls were small windows which let in the smallest amount of light possible. He was in a prison cell. Whoever had captured him and his friends had locked them in this place. He stood up and walked to the metal bars that stood between him and freedom; there was another cell opposite the one he was in but from what he could see the cell was empty. He looked further down the hallway; there were no more cells but instead there was a small open planned area with a few chairs and a table, the lighting was still dim but behind the open plan area was a door. Perhaps that door leads to outside he thought, or maybe we are within a fortress. Overcome with questions and worry he slumped down into the corner of the cell and stared at the opposite side, unaware of what he was about to see.

'Aragorn!?' a small voice asked

'Is that you Merry' replied Aragorn rising up from his slouched position in the corner

'Yes it is me!' he said slightly more settled

Aragorn crawled over to the other corner next to Merry, 'Are you alright?'

Merry nodded, 'I am fine, I feel sick though and my neck is sore'

Aragorn's hand although bound checked the hobbits neck and found no serious injury, 'Where are the others Merry?'

Merry smiled

'What?' he asked confused

Merry turned his head and motioned Aragorn to look. In the darkest corner of the cell lay four unconscious figures who were also bound. Aragorn sighed with relief before questioning whether his vision had truly returned back to its full strength.

'I have not seen Frodo or Sam though'

Aragorn was quick to face Merry, 'I let them go Merry, they escaped. Hopefully they will reach the realm of Lothlorien unscathed so they can send aid to us.'

Merry smiled gently at the man's words, it made him feel more reassured, 'Do you think they will wake up soon?'

Aragorn turned to the others, 'Yes I should hope so, they fell unconscious the same time as us they should awake soon.'

'I am awake already'

Merry and Aragorn turned to the deep voice that seemed to echo through the cell

'Gimli?' Aragorn asked hesitantly

'Aye, I am awake. I just thought resting would get rid of this nausea.'

'We are all suffering from it Gimli' added Merry, 'It will pass'

'Well good, I do not like this situation' Gimli retorted while sitting up and scooting his way over to the other two.

'Ah I see you two are also chained'

'Yes Gimli, I think we all are. Whoever put us in here clearly does not want us to escape'

'Aye Aragorn, the question is who has imprisoned us'

'I do not know Gimli; for when they attacked us they did not reveal their faces nor speak clearly.'

'Who was the last of us to fall do you think?' asked Merry

'Legolas and I were the last two fighting, I was hit with their darts and fell unconscious very quickly so I know for certain Legolas was left alone to fight, however I do not know for how long. Perhaps he spoke with them.'

'Aragorn It is no lie that I do not like elves, but even I know that one dart would not of affected the elf. We should check to see if he is injured.'

'Yes you are right Gimli, it is most likely he was struck unconscious rather than what we all experienced.'

Aragorn shuffled himself to the side of the elf and with his bound hands carefully started examining the elf for any injuries. Merry began doing the same with Pippin.

'He appears to have been stuck on his face. It is hard to see in this light, but I can feel bruising. I think he will be ok though, just sore when he wakes.'

'Owwwww!'

Gimli and Aragorn turned to Merry who looked rather startled

'Pippin?' Merry asked with a shocked expression

'Yes, who else is it going to be? I was sleeping and your fingers keep jabbing into my ribs.'

'Oh Pippin, I'm glad you are ok!' Merry reached down and hugged his cousin.

'Aragorn do you think we should rouse the other two?' Gimli questioned curiously

'I do not know my friend. I feel like we should so we can all determine together what our situation is. But if they both are still unconscious perhaps they should rest.' Aragorn pondered his decision for a moment, 'I wish to give them more rest, but I think we need to try and rouse them for all of our sakes.'

'Very well, I will tend to the elf, you see if Boromir is responsive.'

Gimli placed himself by the elf's side and gently moved him, 'Wake up'. There was no answer so he shook him again, but again there was no response. Gimli resorted to slapping each cheek, 'Wait up you pointy eared prince' however it proved useless, Legolas was not ready to wake.

'He is not awakening Aragorn, he is probably in elven healing.'

'Elven healing?' replied Pippin almost sarcastically as he sat up next to his cousin.

'Shhhhh Pippin, not so loud, we do not want them to know we are awake. Gimli if Legolas is not rousing leave him. I think Boromir is coming to'

Boromir's eyes steadily opened and looked rather shocked to see Aragorn, Gimli, Merry and Pippin staring down at him.

'Is this a dream?' Boromir asked with a deep frown on his face as he began to succumb to the throbbing headache and nausea

Aragorn smiled, 'Nay my friend I wish it was, how are you feeling?'

'Like death, why is it so dark? Where are we?'

'We do not know all we know is that we were attacked and now we are all here in this cell.' answered Gimli.

'So I am lying here bound and wearing nothing more than my undergarments. This is truly folly.'

'Undergarments?' Merry said abruptly

Aragorn, Gimli, Merry and Pippin quickly realised that indeed they had been stripped of their armour and weapons and were clad in just their tunics and trousers.

'I'm scared.'

'Do not fear Pippin, everything will be alright.' Aragorn reassured

Boromir sat up slowly and sat against the back wall beside the still unconscious elf, 'What of Frodo and Sam?'

'They got away.' Replied Merry quickly

Boromir nodded, 'Good, perhaps they will find aid. And what of Legolas, why has he not woken up?'

'Legolas is unconscious due to a heavy blow not through poison; he should wake later on, once his body has healed.'

Boromir took in Aragorn's words and nodded again, 'Very well. I guess all we can do is wait.'


	5. Valiant

_**Sorry for the long update, I was away on holiday. I have a feeling this may be a shorter chapter as I need to get back into the flow of writing after such a lengthy break. Thanks for the reviews !**_

The darkness of the room did not cease even during the light of the day. The small windows provided just enough indication to let the remaining members of the Fellowship to establish the time of day. Aragorn calculated that they had been stuck in the cell for almost 6 hours judging by the amount of light that came through the window and still they had not encountered their captors nor had Legolas awoken. Pippin sighed with frustration as he turned to his cousin;

''Merry, do you think they have forgotten about us?''

Merry turned to his younger cousin, 'What do you mean Pip?'

'Surely they would've come for us now. They wouldn't capture us only to leave us here. What would the point in that?'

Merry shrugged his shoulders, 'I don't know Pippin' he responded with a sombre tone, 'Truth be told I still feeling groggy from those sleeping darts.'

Boromir was leant up against the adjacent wall, his head was titled back, his arms crossed across his lap, his eyes closed. He listened in to the hobbits conversation and slowly raised one eye open. He noted the close proximity the hobbits had to one another and cleared his throat ready to speak.

'They will most likely keep us waiting for as long as possible. Perhaps they expect us to escape'

The hobbits turned to the man, 'But what if they have left us, should we not try to find a way out?' asked Merry

Boromir moved his head from side to side slowly, 'Nay young Hobbit. We must not; it would most likely be a trap. We do not know what game we are involved with'

'But we cannot simply wait here, what about food and water. We not last very long with neither!' protested Pippin

'Shhhhhhh!' said Merry, trying to calm down Pippin. 'Sit back down Pip, we still have to be quiet!'

'You should listen to your cousin Pippin, he is right. We must stay quiet un till we know for certain what dangers we may face.'

Merry nodded at Boromir's words, 'See Pip, just stay calm. There is no need to worry'

'Yet'

Boromir, Pippin and Merry met the Dwarf's eyes. Hunched in the corner sat Gimli, his arms limp in his lap, the three were able to make out the worried emotion in Gimli's eyes; something that was usually masked by his heavy helmet. Boromir leant forward to meet Gimli;

'Please Gimli, I beg of you, this is no time to be negative'

'I am not being negative son of Denethor, I am just stating that we may, in the not too distant future, ''need to worry''.

Boromir edged closer to the dwarf and whispered as quietly as he could, 'Gimli, not in front of Merry and Pippin, they are scared.'

'We can hear you' stated Pippin bluntly

Boromir sighed and moved back against the wall while Gimli said some muffled dwarvish under his breath.

'All I'm saying Boromir is that despite your best efforts to keep morale high we need to face the facts. We have no idea where we are despite being in a dark cell, we have no food nor water, we have no idea what has happened to Frodo and of Sam, Aragorn has not spoken for at least two hours now and Legolas has yet to awake from unconsciousness.'

'What do you fear Gimli?'

Aragorn's voice echoed smoothly across the cell

'Oh so you have finally decided to speak Aragorn!'

'I asked you a question Gimli, what do you fear?'

Gimli's eyes squinted in anger at the man, 'I do not fear for myself, I fear for those who our captors may target.'

The two hobbits leant forward, 'What do you mean?'

Gimli sighed and lowered his head. Aragorn moved away from Legolas' sleeping form and came closer to the others, 'Gimli would you like me to explain?'

'Yes' he replied quietly

Aragorn sighed heavily, 'Hobbits, when are captors make themselves known to us, it is most likely that they may interrogate you, maybe even harm you. They may ask about the whereabouts of Sam and Frodo…'

'…..We do not care how much pain they may cause us, we will never bring harm to Sam or Frodo!' stated Merry

'Yes! We stick together, We won't give in to anything. Just because we are small does not mean we are weak!' added Pippin

Aragorn smiled, 'Forgive me if you thought I was suggesting such a thing. For in my experience I have come to realise that hobbits are the most valiant creatures of them all. However our captors will not know this, so we must stay vigilant and close.'

'Aragorn?' sad Gimli slightly worried

'Yes Gimli?'

'And what of the elf?'

There was a tense silence, only Aragorn truly knew what Gimli was implying and it made Aragorn's heart wretched with fear, anger and sadness.

'What of Legolas? What is it?' Pippin demanded

Aragorn turned to Legolas and back to his friends, 'There is also a very high chance that Legolas will be targeted along with you two. Wild men, mercenaries and Saruman's forces would pay a high price to have a captured elf, particularly one of Legolas' stature. You must not let on or reveal that he is the son of the Elven King, do you all understand?

They all nodded in unison

'Good' Aragorn responded, 'I do not know what faces us, I do not know what will happen to us all but whatever happens we must stay together for one another. I can't promise that we will be safe, but I can promise that by staying together we have a greater chance of surviving this ordeal.

Aragorn paused for a moment and stared at the night sky through the windows, 'We should get some rest, perhaps we will have some more answers in the morning.'

Boromir nodded and motioned the Hobbits to rest. It was not long before they all fell silently asleep.

_**Sorry for the shorter chapter. Was going to extend it but I found finishing it here opens it up nicely for the next chapter. Please review if you have the chance….thanks again !**_


	6. Precious Little Things

The hard thudding came first, the nausea second. Legolas was not sure which was worse but as his elvish recovery came to a close both pain and nausea stood their ground with him. He was not ready to open his eyes but his somewhat cold hand found its way to his forehead. The contrasting temperatures of his hand and forehead came to a shock to him and gently he let out a sigh, knowing that he had been quite badly hit. As his hand lowered to touch the soft skin of his neck, he was quickly reminded that that too was also sore and in pain. He did not relish in the pain, he removed his hand and placed it back down beside his body and began the task of slowly opening his eyes.

His sharp blue eyes opened, but he could not see anything. Blinking furiously to make sure that it was not his body that was refusing to let his eyes open; he soon quickly discovered that it was not sudden blindness; the lack of lighting was due to his new location. The last he remembered before awakening in the dark was the forest and then battle, he sighed in relief when he realised his memory was still intact. Although it was not long until fear set in; he was not one to let emotions take the better of him but the sudden realisation that his friends may be in danger hounded his conscience. It was then when he noticed the starlight coming through the small window; elves had a connection with the stars often finding comfort by looking at their light and for Legolas this was no exception. The light they provided relaxed the elf and calmed him of all fear and focused him on his next task, getting up. He did not ponder the thought any longer and quickly he rose to a seated position, with the dizziness and nausea quickly catching up on him. Nevertheless he propped himself up again the cold wall and began to think. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers as a strong wave of nausea ailed him. From this he soon realised what was attached to his wrists; strong iron cuffs. He tried pulling them apart, finding any way to be released from them but it was no use, he was alone, so he thought and was trapped in the darkness with no word of his friends. He tilted his head back to his eyes could scan the stars peeping through the small window and relished in their beauty for a few moments. He sighed a somewhat exasperated sigh before returning his eyes back to the cell, he used what little light the stars provided to his advantage and began to scan the room, top to bottom, side to side; He certainly wasn't expecting to find his friends laying their fast asleep and unharmed. It was easy to depict the hobbits from the others and it was not due to their loud rumbling stomachs from the lack of food; more of the fact that the two cousins could not be any closer to one another if they tried. Legolas smiled and for a moment forgot his troubles but the restless figure next to the hobbits brought him back down to middle earth. Aragorn had never been a good sleeper and from what Legolas could make out, he was not sleeping very well. Small and quite huffs and gruffs came from the ranger as he tried to block out what nightmare was ailing him as he slept. Legolas could not help but feel sorry for the man as he tried to sleep and it was clear to the elf that none of his companions should be awoken as he had no indication of what may of happened to them in the interim of him being unconscious. All Legolas could do was wait for morning and perhaps his questions could be answered. He phased his vision to an elvish dream state and softly began to sing; Aragorn relaxed and fell back to his slumber while Legolas took the decision to fall in elvish sleep until the morning.

It was not long until dawn arrived and light filled the dark space. Boromir could feel that his sleep was coming to a close as his eyes reluctantly began to open. The silence was enough to tell him that he was the only one awake but something felt different to him, he could sense something that unsettled him deeply. He realised that he was incredibly thirsty, neither of his companions had eaten or drunk since their capture; he put his reasoning to his unsettling feeling down to this. He had been staring at the ceiling for a few minutes before deciding to prop himself up against the wall. He removed Gimli's strewn arm off his stomach, the dwarf was always a wild sleeper ,and gently ushered himself back against the wall. He rested his head on his knees and sighed heavily, dreaming that a jug of water or a loaf of bread might magically appear. He lifted his head to stop his wild thoughts but instead he yelped loudly. Opposite him was Legolas, also propped up against the wall, but his eyes were wide open, yet there was a glaze of vacancy about them. Boromir was not expecting to see the elf like that, before he fell asleep he was still unconscious and lifeless lying on the floor. It was now clear to the man that the elf was in his elvish sleep so very quietly he whispered;

'Legolas? Legolas!'

The elf's eyes blinked awake from the sleep and stared forcefully at the man on the other side of the room.

'Boromir, it is good to see you'

'When did you awake?'

Legolas peered up at the light and back to Boromir, 'Perhaps a few hours before dawn. Are you hurt Boromir?'

'Nay, I am fine, as is everyone else. Are you troubled?'

Legolas paused for thought as he checked his pains, 'My head is still sore from the heavy blow but other than that I am fine.'

'That is good to hear. But as you can see our situation is rather dire' Boromir replied rather sombre tone

'Yes I have come to realise this, have we had no contact with our captors?'

'Nay none, we have no information, no contact, we have been here for over a day now. I can't imagine they would leave us alone for much longer.'

'I agree with you, we should wake the others and devise a plan'

'I will rouse Gimli and the Hobbits, I'm sure Aragorn will wish to speak with you.'

The hobbits woke in a surprisingly good mood, a strong contrast to Gimli whose anger of being awoken was clearly visible. Legolas gently shook Aragorn awake and was met with a shocked look.

Aragorn sat up in a flash and stared at Legolas

'You are awake Legolas!'

'Yes mellon nin, I awoke just before dawn'

'Are you hurt?' Aragorn replied quickly

'No Aragorn I am fine. Boromir and I woke you all because we need to devise some sort of plan'

'What do you mean….plan?' Pippin asked hesitantly

Aragorn turned to the young hobbit, 'Pippin we cannot stay here any longer'

'But we have not eaten, we have no strength. We cannot simply march out of whatever building this is' Gimli added frustrated

'Shhhhhh Gimli, we must not be so loud!'

Gimli's eyes darted to the elf, 'Oh so you have a say in the matter now. In case you have forgotton elf, you have been asleep for the entire duration'

'And in case you have forgotten Gimli, we may not of been in this situation had you not spoken out of turn in the forest.'

Gimli rose from his seated position in an attempt to attack Legolas but was abruptly and forcefully pulled back down by Boromir.

'Enough!' shouted Aragorn, so fierce was his tone that both Merry and Pippin cowered. 'We cannot fight each other now! We have to stay strong…

Aragorn would have finished his sentence had a grinding and piercing sound of iron grating against a stone floor not pierced the ears of him and his friends.

They all froze, like a deer in front of an archer. They all looked at one another, hoping that someone had an answer to what they just heard. However it was Legolas who provided the first form of information

'I can hear voices. People are coming.'

Aragorn rushed to the iron bars of the cell and looked down the dark corridor and noticed that the front door had opened, revealing the peaceful outdoors. Then he saw shadows, shadows of men. He pulled back from the iron bars and turned to his friends who all looked at him waiting for an answer.

'Well?' asked Boromir

'The door is opened. I can see the outside…'

The grating noise returned, piercing the ears of the Fellowship. But then it stopped, and a deathly silence came to the room. So tense was the atmosphere Legolas was sure he could hear the hobbits hearts beating, but that was nothing to what they heard next.

Thud, thud, thud.

Footsteps came closer and closer and more loudly with every step. Chains hitting against each other were also thrown to the mix and it was not long until a shadow grew on the ground by the cell at the oncoming figure. Aragorn held his breath as it came closer, and it was not long until a dark hooded figure stood outside the cell, peering in at the captives. Pippin tightly gripped his cousin's hand as the hooded figure raised his head and opened his mouth to speak.

'Hello my precious little prisoners'


	7. Pretty Thing

'Show yourself'

The hooded figure turned to the rugged ranger and laughed. Aragorn was only just able to make out the turn of movements in the corner of his lips under the shadow of his hood.

'You think I will cause you harm?' the figure questioned darkly

Aragorn rose and walked to the bars; 'An ally would reveal his identity. As you are refusing, I can only assume you are here to cause harm.'

'Harm? No. I am not here to harm you or your companions. I am simply a messenger.'

'A messenger for what?' Suddenly Boromir's voice cut in and the hooded figure moved his head to him in a swift action

'Silence! I will speak only to one of you', hissed the figure. Boromir clenched his teeth with rage. The figure turned his head back to Aragorn.

'I come to you with a message from my master. He is waiting and soon he will greet you. However he does not want his precious prisoners wasting away, therefore he has been generous enough to offer you bread and water.'

Pippin's face lit up, 'Food Merry and water!'

'Yes I heard him too Pip' Merry nudged him in his side with his elbow to quieten him down

The mysterious messenger continued; 'The door will open soon and you will be brought bread and water to you. You must all stay at the back of the cell. Anyone that even moves an inch will be beaten, do you understand?'

In unison they replied yes. The figure nodded and walked out of the building, leaving behind an atmosphere so tense that it could be cut with a knife. Gimli let out a huge sigh.

'Well that was…..useful.'

Legolas frowned, 'Useful?'

'Aye Elf, useful' Gimli stroked his beard in thought. 'This 'messenger' whoever he may be has slipped up.'

'How so?' questioned Boromir

'He was trying to be mysterious but we have learnt a lot about him. He is a human, around Boromir's age, not particularly muscular or broad and about 6 foot tall.'

There was a silence as Gimli's friends stared at him with bewilderment

'I still do not understand what you are suggesting master dwarf' Legolas asked

Gimli sighed, 'It shows us that we are not dealing with orcs or Uruk Hai, we are being imprisoned by men. Without causing offence to you both Boromir and Aragorn, we could all defeat them, even the hobbits.'

'That is all very well Gimli', began Boromir, 'but we do not know how many are outside, or weapons they may possess'

'You think I have not considered that as well?' Gimli retorted angrily, ' I was merely saying that if an opportunity arose we may find it easier than originally expected to attack them.'

Aragorn thought to himself for a moment, 'I understand what you are suggesting Gimli. But if we are low in strength I can't see how any of us with be able to fight against them.'

Gimli folded him arms across his stomach and slumped against the wall. He would've sulked a little longer had the door not opened again. The Fellowship all became poised attentively and as agreed moved to the back of the cell. Two smaller figures, also in cloaked hoods walked in. One was carrying a jug and the other a basket. They stopped at the door as one pulled out a key and began to open the door. The Fellowship did not speak a word, only stared at them with utter confusion and intent. The basket and jug was placed on the floor of the cell and within a second the cell door was closed shut.

'Enjoy' spoke one of the men before returning back outside. The movement was all so quick that none of the fellowship had time to study the figures, but nevertheless they were relieved to have food and water placed in front of them. It wasn't long before Pippin darted towards the basket.

'What is it Pip?' asked Merry quickly

'Bread, 6 loaves of bread.' He responded

'Seems rather generous' questioned Boromir. Aragorn nodded in agreement

'Who are we to complain, we must restore our strength. There is enough here for half a loaf each.' Retorted that dwarf.

Aragorn did not respond, he only stared at the small loaf of bread that was clutched tightly in Pippin's hands. Pippin caught his gaze and gawped at the ranger for some time.

'Wha…what is it Aragorn?' Pippin asked in a rather worried tone, 'Should we not eat it?'

Aragorn turned to Boromir and then to Legolas before eyeing up the bread again. 'It seems too kind to offer us this amount, does no one else feel sceptical about this? Legolas, what do you suspect?'

Legolas also turned his gaze to the loaf in questioned and ponder for a short time, 'I do not believe the bread is poisoned. I firmly believe that they have merely given us this food in order for us to regain energy. I suspect they will be wanting to move us soon. If you are concerned Aragorn, then perhaps I will try the bread first, and the water for that matter.'

'Why would you do that?' Asked Merry firmly

'Because I am less susceptible to getting ill from poison.' He replied matter of factly

'If you do not mind then Legolas, perhaps you can quickly try for us.' Asked Aragorn

Legolas nodded and reach for one of the loaves. He tore off a small piece and placed it in his mouth. He gently chewed on it before swallowing and waited for any strange or unusual tastes to come to his mouth. His friends watched his facial expression for any indication of foul play but after some time Legolas nodded and smiled.

'It is not poisoned.'

Pippin sighed with relief, 'Well that's good'

Legolas then reached for the water and took a small sip. His friends were met with the same good news; it was not poisoned. It did not take long for the rest of the loaves to be distributed between them all and it certainly was not long before the hobbits had engulfed their food.

'Could've done with a little butter, don't you think.'

Pippin nodded at his cousin's statement, 'Oh yes, it was a little on the dry side, perhaps a little jam as well'

Boromir and Aragorn laughed

'I will always admire Hobbit's admire for food. Even in a bad situation as we find ourselves in , you are still able to put food first.' Smiled Boromir

'Ahhhh yes it is a gift, you see…'

The door opened, the metal against the stone screeched so loudly it made them jump. They all became on full alert as they heard footsteps coming towards them. The shadow grew closer and closer with each passing second. Pippin and Merry and taken refuge in the corner of the cell, staying close to one another for protection. It was not long until a man stood in front of them; his face was worn, tired and his hair was black and scruffy. The dirt on his face was a strong indication to show that he had not washed for a long time; he smiled in a sadistic manner at them, revealing his stained yellow and rotting teeth.

'They are ready for you Sir' he said

At that very moment another man joined him. He was taller and broader. He was also had a warn face but past the thick dark beard it was clear to see he was a man of power. His brown, dark, vacant eyes scanned each and every one of the Fellowship. He smiled and laughed loudly. His deep loud voice echoed through the cell, it sounded so haunting and it made Pippin cower with fright. He leant up against the cell bars and peered in; he eyes squinted harshly at them

'Get up!'

Slowly they rose, pride eating away harshly for Gimli, Aragorn , Legolas and Boromir.

The man's assistant spoke; 'My name is Teren and this is my master Torik. You must honour him and do exactly as he tells you to.'

Torik turned to his right hand man and smiled, 'You have done well in capturing them. It must have been a hard feat.

Torik's eyes scanned everyone one individually, paying particular attention to the hobbits;

'What strange creatures you are. What are you? And what are your names?'

Merry hesitantly began to answer; 'We are Hobbits, from the Shire. My name is Merry and this is Pippin'

Torik glared at Merry before turning to the two men, 'Oh how joyous. More men, probably as stubborn as I. I will have fun with you two!' he said sarcastically

Boromir clenched his fist in an attempt to hold his rage

Torik took another stepped and gazed at Gimli, 'Oh even worse than men for stubbornness, a dwarf. Teren you really have succeeded!' he added even more sarcastically

Gimli suddenly felt Aragorn's arm come across his chest in an attempt to stop the dwarf from attacking. Finally Torik turned his attention to Legolas. A huge beam grew across his face.

'Well, well, well. What do we have here?'

'I thought you might like this one master' replied Teren in a happy and proud manner

'You have brought me an elf. How fantastic. You have redeemed yourself Teren. We will have a lot of fun with him.'

Aragorn turned to Legolas who gave no indication of emotion towards the man.

Torik took a stepped closer to the bars and stared deeply into Legolas eyes, ' You would be a fool to mess around with me or my men elf. Especially one as pretty as you.' His smiled also revealed a rotting set of teeth to which Legolas grimaced slightly.

'Teren, get the others, it's time to take them outside.'

Teren nodded as Torik stormed outside.


	8. Moving to the outside

_**Ok can I just say I am seriously sorry for the long update, I haven't been very well recently and have been on antibiotics. I felt really guilty reading not being able to post this any sooner. But the good news is I'm back now and feeling better. I haven't given up on this story so don't worry. Thank you for still reviewing and reading this story.**_

The door of the building slammed shut once again leaving the cell in a dismal dark light. No one spoke for a few moments, they each were reflecting on their own emotions of the situation. The hobbit's were a little more obvious in showing their emotion through their facial expressions than the others but it was safe to say that no matter how good their attempts were at hiding their feelings, they all began to suffer from one emotion; fear.

Gimli grunted loudly showing his discontent. ''Well this is just marvellous. We are to become slaves, Gimli son of Gloin a slave''

''We are not slaves Master Dwarf'' retorted Aragorn

''Then what are we Aragorn?''

Aragorn looked into the dwarf's small brown eyes and searched for some sort of answer to reply with, but nothing came. Aragorn was never a man to be defeated but this situation was proving a taxing task even to him.

''We are prisoners Gimli, nothing more. But unfortunately for us, it seems they have the power to do with us what they will'', Legolas' soft calm voice carried itself across the room, oddly easing the others with their nervousness .

Gimli shook his head; 'How can you be settled on this situation Legolas?'

Legolas frowned at his dwarven companion, 'What do you mean Gimli?'

'Did you not hear what those men said of you? They mean to harm you! I cannot be the only one who is slightly concerned of this situation'

'Gimli….' Legolas began,

'He is right you know…..' Legolas' eyes turned to the curly haired older hobbit sitting opposite him on the floor, 'those men mean to harm you, can you not see that?'

Legolas smiled at Merry almost patronizingly at the fact the Hobbit assumed he was ignorant of the situation. 'My little Hobbit, I may look young but I am not. During my lifetime I have faced many prejudices from men, particularly the likes of these that have us captured now. I do not fear them for I do not fear death.'

Merry frowned at his answer, 'are you not scared of being harmed?'

Legolas shook his head from side to side, 'No young Hobbit I am not scared of being harmed. The only thing that I fear is seeing any of you harmed and being helpless to stop it.'

'I must also agree with your words' added Boromir firmly, 'For though I am considered young for a man I have experienced battle and pain, I am not afraid of this.'

'I fear the fate of Sam and Frodo'

All eyes turned to Aragorn as his slightly dirty face looked heavily down at the floor. He could feel their strong gaze targeting him so he lifted his head to meet them.

' I know I am not the only one of us who has thought about Sam and Frodo, but for myself that is what I fear the most. Our objective was to protect Frodo and destroy the ring, by being here we have failed him, this saddens me more than I can bare.'

'I know Frodo and I know Sam. They won't give up easily' replied the youngest Hobbit

Aragorn look slightly dejected as he looked at youngest member of the group, 'I hope you are right Pippin. I told them to make travel to Lothlorien. I pray they have made it safely to their borders.'

'I can't imagine they would have failed in that task Aragorn,' Legolas replied calmly, 'we were near to their borders before our capture, it wouldn't of been long before we would 've started to hear the elves sing.'

Gimli rolled his eyes and quietly under his breath muttered an insult towards Legolas' words. Boromir watched the dwarf as he did so and laughed quietly, he was still pleased that despite their dire situation the elf and dwarf were still well enough to feud. However he wished that Gimli was able to prolong his muttering as his gaze and attention was suddenly drawn toward something not quite as amusing.

'They are back' the man on Gondor stated

'It would appear that way' added Aragorn

The screeching of the front door yet again pierced the acoustics of the room making both Merry and Pippin cover their ears. As before footsteps followed, however they were not slow and heavy, this time fast and light paced, the men coming had a purpose this time and it was not long until Teren and three other men stood before the group. They were holding weapons; Teren a long sword, the man to his right appeared to carry a rusty axe and the other two men carried long daggers. Aragorn looked into the eyes of Teren and scowled, Teren smiled and laughed.

'It's time to move you all outside. My master has jobs for you to do. We will do this quietly and without any fuss, do you understand? Because if I have any trouble from any of you; I will not hesitate to kill this little one here.'

The tip of Teren's sword pointed at Pippin's chest however he did not seem afraid, he looked directly back into the grotesque man's eyes with determination.

'We will abide by your rules, we will not attack' Aragorn stated firmly

'Good, that is a wise decision. Boruk get the keys and unchain them'

The group identified Boruk with the man with the rusty axe, something in which Gimli did not take kindly too. He was perhaps the most maintained of the men that they had come across, he was clearly the youngest but was most distinguishable by his full head of bright blonde curly hair. Boruk dropped his axe and walked into the cell and slowly one by one released them of their chains. Teren stood at the open doorway watching as he did so, however this was not what Aragorn was focused on. Behind Teren stood the other two men, both the same stature as he, but with the same dirtied and un-kept look as the rest of the men of the group. He would not of been alarmed by the two men had they been watching Boruk's every move, however one of the men's eyes were fixed on the Hobbits, never blinking just complete focus almost as if he was fascinated by the small folk. The other man had his gaze on Legolas, however his eyes told a different story; desire, bloodshed, murder, he made no attempt to keep this notion to himself. But soon, it was Aragorn's turn to be released of his chains, without realising it his hands moved straight away to comfort his wrists which were sore and painful and before long he was made to stand in line with the others. The hobbits were at the front, Gimli behind them, and then followed Legolas with Boromir and Aragorn at the back. They walked slowly out of the cell toward the open door leading to the outside with Teren and his men keeping a close and watchful eye on the group as they walked by their side. It was not long before the crisp and fresh air hit them. The hobbits shielded their eyes from the bright light even though it appeared to be late afternoon, before taking in a deep breath.

'Fresh air Merry, it feels so good.'

'Never realised how underrated it could be' Merry responded

'Silence!' ordered Teren, 'my master is sleeping, you would not want to wake him up, he is not as considerate as I.'

'What will you do with us now we are here?' asked Legolas softly

It was not Teren that responded but the man who had watched him back in the cell. He stepped forward to meet the elf who was lined up against the buildings outer wall. He was the same height as the elf so his dark soulless eyes were able to meet Legolas'.

'You will see elf. We have lots of things for you to do.' The man answered

There was something so dead about his tone that Legolas didn't exactly know how to respond. He was not sure if he was being threatened or perhaps the long obvious years that the man had spent in the wilderness and cold had begun to take its toll on his social skills, either way Legolas did not have time to ponder on the matter as they were once again led off. They did not have to walk very far, a few metres if most; but they came to their camp site. A large fire was centred in the middle with logs surrounding it making for makeshift seats. A little further back towards the forest were some tents, small and dirty, but big enough to fit the men inside. To the left of the fire stood an area where food and weapons were kept. Aragorn noted that it seemed that area was always kept on guard. And to the right of the fire stood a suspicious sight; three trees in the open area stood strongly. It was too coincidental that they had been brought here and without a moment's hesitation Teren and his men lead the group over to them.

'This is where you will be staying. Boruk tie the Dwarf and the larger man to that one'

Boromir frowned, 'larger man?' before being pushed down onto the floor and having himself tied against the base of the tree with Gimli the opposite side.

Teren pointed to the middle tree, 'Vallen, I want the elf and the smaller hobbit in the middle.'

'Vallen, so that is his name' thought Legolas, he was sure to remember it. Vallen smiled at Legolas as he forced him down to the floor and tied him against the tree. Pippin yelped a little at the tightness of the rope but after wriggling to loosen it slightly he settled down. Finally Aragorn and Merry were tied against the left hand side tree with Aragorn facing out to the dark cold forest. Merry and Pippin were perhaps comforted by the fact that although they were not bound together they were at least facing each other, the same however could not be said of Gimli when he raised his head to see that Legolas would be facing him.

Gimli shook his head, 'Oh now I'm facing the elf'

Boromir nudged him with his elbow, 'Now is not the time Gimli.'

''Well this couldn't get any worse' Pippin said in a hushed voice so only Merry and Legolas could hear.

Terek stepped forward, 'Good now that you are all settled you can relax. My men will bring you food and water in the morning. You will stay quiet or you will be harmed. When my master awakes he will deal with you personally.'

Teren showed off his vile teeth with his smile before turning off and walking to the campfire to sit and eat

'No pippin, I think things are about to become a lot worse' Merry responded dejectedly.


End file.
